FULLERTON : 2 Lots Will Continue to Serve as Community Parks

Two vacant lots that neighborhood children use for playgrounds will not be sold for development, a victory for residents who had petitioned the City Council to leave the two tracts as they are.

Mike Quaranta, head of the President Homes neighborhood group, said the city bought a 2.5-acre lot at the west end of Rolling Hills Drive in 1975 with the intention of eventually turning it into a park. No improvements have ever been made to the lot, however, and residents have taken responsibility for picking up trash and keeping the property clean.

“I couldn’t be more angry,” Quaranta said of the city’s proposal to sell the property as a way to raise revenue.

Other residents said the lot is the only place in the neighborhood for children to play. “We don’t need a big, lush production number,” Paul Morisette said. “Just put up a sign that says: ‘Hard dirt park.’ ”

The majority of the council agreed, voting 3 to 2 Tuesday not to sell the Rolling Hills lot and rejecting by 4 to 1 a proposal to sell a half-acre dirt lot at Gilbert Street and Olive Avenue.

“Everything doesn’t have to be developed,” said Councilwoman Jan Flory, who voted with the majority.